Sir Keir Starmer has informed the police that they have the ministers’ full support to take “all necessary action to keep our streets safe” from “thugs” who “sow hate.” This comes as violent protests have broken out across the United Kingdom in response to the stabbing of three girls in Southport.
The Prime Minister met with senior ministers, including the Deputy Prime Minister, the Home Secretary, the Justice Secretary, and the Minister of Policing, according to a spokesperson for Downing Street. The purpose of the meeting was to review the acts of public disorder and unrest that have occurred in towns and cities over the past few minutes.
After expressing gratitude to the police officers who responded to the violence that occurred in Sunderland on Friday night, which resulted in the injury of four officers, Sir Keir stated that the officers “have our full support to take action against extremists on our streets who are attacking police officers, disrupting local businesses, and attempting to sow hate by intimidating communities.”
“The right to freedom of expression and the violent disorder we have seen are two very different things,” he explained to reporters.
“There is no excuse for violence of any kind and I reiterate that the government backs the police to take all necessary action to keep our streets safe.”
Ms. Cooper responded: “We’ve been clear to the police that they have our full backing in taking the strongest possible action against perpetrators, including making sure that there are more prosecutors, there are sufficient prison places, and also that the courts stand ready because anyone who engages in this kind of disorder needs to be clear that they will pay the price.”
She pledged to collaborate with authorities to guarantee “consequences, arrests, and prosecutions” for those guilty.
Protesters tossed bottles, chairs, and bricks at police officers amid skirmishes in towns and cities across England and Northern Ireland on Saturday.
Merseyside Police reported a number of officers were hurt amid “serious disorder” in Liverpool’s city centre, including one who was hit in the head with a chair.
Officers were also pelted with bricks, bottles, and a flare as they lined the Strand in the city center.
Another cop was assaulted and thrown off his motorcycle by a demonstrator, and others attempted to kick riot shields.
Four individuals were arrested in Hull, and three cops were injured during a protest at a hotel that houses asylum seekers.
Humberside Police Chief Superintendent Darren Wildbore said officers “faced eggs and bottles being thrown” as windows were shattered at the hotel, which houses migrants.
Four males were arrested after bricks were hurled at officers in Stoke-on-Trent, while fireworks were thrown during tense clashes between an anti-Islamic group and an anti-racism march in Belfast.
At least three people were arrested in Nottingham after scuffles broke out between opposing factions in the city’s Market Square.
Bottles and other things were thrown from both sides, while counter-protesters’ boos drowned out chants of “England till I die” and “Tommy Robinson.”.
In Leeds, hundreds of counterprotesters shouting “Nazi scum off our streets” vastly outnumbered the approximately 150 people holding St. George’s flags and yelling “You’re not English any more” and “Paedo Muslims off our street.”
Earlier this week, violent protests led to over 100 arrests outside Downing Street on Wednesday and 10 arrests in Sunderland on Friday night after a property near a police station was set on fire and items were thrown at officers.
Three girls were killed in a knife assault at a Taylor Swift-themed dance lesson at a community center in Southport on Monday, sparking widespread disturbance.
Following the attack, there was a rush of online misinformation about the suspect’s history.
Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, 17, of Lancashire, is suspected of the attack, but erroneous reports have circulated online claiming the suspect is an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK by boat.